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Stibbs goes to Colombia: April 2010

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Stibbs goes to Colombia. Tuesday, 27 April 2010. Yesterday I had lunch in a relaxed Hare Krishna restaurant overlooking Caracas—one of the city’s main thoroughfares. Unusually, the traffic was noisily backed up for blocks. Throughout the meal, the air was angrily pierced like a teenage goth’s ears with endless horns and policemen’s whistles. I dread to think what it did to the staff’s chakras. Their school, Panamericano, was to be knocked down and they did not want to let it happen. While they fought for...

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Stibbs goes to Colombia: January 2010

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Stibbs goes to Colombia. Tuesday, 5 January 2010. Street life, XXX flicks and fishing rods. Even without a proper job, I try to avoid spending my days aimlessly wondering about Bogotá's calles and carreras in my slippers. But a look at local street culture gives a glimpse into the city’s soul and forces me to get out of the flat. A friendly fellow by nature, when someone offers me a leaflet in the street, my instinct is to look them in the eye, smile broadly and say something like: “Fantastic! Memory sti...

boliviadraken.blogspot.com

Boliviadraken: November 2009

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Monday, November 30, 2009. Kolibris för att lugna läsarna. Allt är inte bara politik i Bolivia i dagarna, även om det är val, som känns extremt oladdat för att vara Bolivia, på söndag. Yours truely ska valobsa för EU så en sista rapport blir det. Men i djurvärlden är politiken inget som märks som man kan se på dessa bilder. Thursday, November 19, 2009. I samband med vår hemresa och påbörjan av en ny fas i livet kommer jag också pensionera min gamla blogg. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom).

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Stibbs goes to Colombia: August 2011

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Stibbs goes to Colombia. Wednesday, 10 August 2011. On board Colombia’s flying hospital. Patrulla Aérea Civil’s volunteer pilots and medics provide life-changing healthcare to remote, neglected communities—it’s difficult not to be carried away. More impressive yet, these volunteers were waiting to climb into their tiny planes and take off into the tempestuous sky. Their destination was the temporary hospital the group had set up in Uribe, Meta. To the south of the city, as we swung between isolated rain ...

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Stibbs goes to Colombia: Sporting glory escapes again

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Stibbs goes to Colombia. Thursday, 8 July 2010. Sporting glory escapes again. After years of opportunity to shine, my skills as a cricketer are not so much unrecognized as unrecognizable. Regardless, I found myself in a taxi about to represent Colombia against the visiting national Chile team. My attempts to buy a box had been met with bemused looks rather than success. At least I wasn’t wearing jeans, unlike the Canadian in our team (geographically, he was the closest we had to a Colombian; th...The lea...

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Stibbs goes to Colombia: May 2010

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Stibbs goes to Colombia. Sunday, 23 May 2010. Colombian party election HQs tell a tale. Last week I got new gig writing about the Colombian presidential election, which required a little research. It seemed wise to start at the campaign headquarters of the two front-runners. Currently ahead by a nose is Antanas Mockus. He is a flamboyant character with a Michael-Eavis beard, promising clean politics, change and hope. All good, inspiring stuff, apart from the disastrous beard. A short, spluttering bus rid...

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Stibbs goes to Colombia: June 2010

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Stibbs goes to Colombia. Friday, 11 June 2010. Coffee: Colombia's other stimulating export. Our two hostesses took food seriously and would not countenance a missed meal within their dominion. Dazed after an all-night bus journey from Bogotá to Manizales in Colombia’s Zona Cafetera, they swept us (my wife, a friend and member of the family, and I) up in their hospitable arms and sat us down for breakfast. These arepas were different: freshly homemade that morning, they were hot, flavoursome and almost su...

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Stibbs goes to Colombia: Boobs, loos and tear gas

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Stibbs goes to Colombia. Thursday, 22 July 2010. Boobs, loos and tear gas. I took a bus yesterday morning. A taxi furiously hooted as we got on at the bus stop, he was beside himself that we should fly in the face of the one rule of the road: anarchy. Buses conventionally swing across to pick up passengers whenever they happen to nonchalantly stick out an arm, finger or flick their eyes. Outside on the Septima, a thousands’ strong march streamed past. At its vanguard, angry men carried sticks&#...I asked...

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Stibbs goes to Colombia: March 2010

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Stibbs goes to Colombia. Tuesday, 16 March 2010. Going round the cheesey twist in Bogota. This was originally published at Food Tripper. Take a peak for an edited version complete with a snap or two. There’s even a couple of films on Food Tripper TV. Then, and this is the important bit, hit the invariably excellent restaurant for a taste of what the country is really all about. To Colombians, the addition of cheese is as unquestionable as a bonus to a banker; separation is beyond comprehension, no matter...

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Stibbs goes to Colombia: August 2010

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Stibbs goes to Colombia. Wednesday, 25 August 2010. Campesino farmers' market (armadillos and machetes). Arriving at Bogotá’s landmark Plaza Bolivar for its first-ever campesino market was a pleasant surprise. Given that “campesino” translates as peasant farmer, it was a surprise that it looked like an urban glamping festival. Scores of pristine white tents filled the square, while a man played an armadillo on the stage. Moving swiftly away, I was attracted by the Cundinamarca region’s “rella...By now it...